"A superb game from the start to the finish"

Introduction:
Lock’n Chase is a game that reminds a lot of Pac-Man. There are however a lot of differences between the games. The player controls a thief who collects coins around each map. In each map there are a cops who chase the thief around. I bet you can imagine where the inspiration for this game came from. But as an example of the difference our friendly thief has the ability to magically put up a bar after him on special places essentially shutting off the path behind him. A great feature when cops are chasing him.

Gameplay:
This game plays very fine. The controls are spot on. The main mission is to collect all the coins of a map. When all coins are collected the thief enters the next map. Unlike Pac-Man he can stop anytime he wants. Even though Pac-Man styled games are very old school (even at the time Lock’n Chase came out) the game feels very modern and very fun. There is always something new to discover and the game surprises the player at times with things you wouldn’t expect to find in the game. I haven’t got a clue how this game was made but I assume it isn’t a rushed job because it feels very polished. Something you notice right from the start when you turn on your Gameboy and see our friendly thief run out of the screen under the classic Data East logo another example of the superb design must be the excellent cut scenes between levels.
Gameplay demands a bit of strategy. The ability to put up a door behind you makes for a lot of interesting scenarios. If you can trap a cop between two doors you get extra points, if you can trap two cops you get even more. The ability to put up a door behind you gives the player greater freedom in the choices she can make and broadens the strategy needed to master this game because if you put up a door behind you, the cop chasing you wont be able to catch you, but the cop in front of you might because you cant go through the path you just closed!
There are some extra items around the areas. Money sacks sometimes appears. If the player walks onto one all the cops suddenly shrinks and the thief can walk over them with no loss of life. Diamonds appears which make the player invulnerable. If the player walks over cops while invulnerable by a diamond the cop will disappear and appear again in another area of the map. For each diamond taken the player gets a round on the bonus game, which is just a simple one-armed bandit game. It is possible to get extra lives there.
The maps starts out easy and then progressively get harder through the levels. There are initially six levels which each has three different maps. The great thing is that with each new level the player will have to face a new feature either that is doors that can be opened or giant clocks that wakes up cops if they are being touched for example. Thanks to the progressive introduction of new things in the game it gets more interesting the more you play and eventually grows outside the concept of a Pac-Man styled game, as you will see in the final level where our thief has to steal the big African diamond he wants so much.

Graphic/Sound
I have to say that the animation of the thief and the cops are great. There are different cops and each one has a unique look and walks in a different way. Even though these sprites aren’t that big or in color they still look great and is funny to watch. I don’t think it would have been possible to make the graphics of the main cast any better on the original Gameboy. Between levels you are treated to some small animations each one showing the thief escape either by him or by a vehicle. These scenes also show a glimpse of the city in the night behind the bank and set the mood perfectly. I find no flaws with the graphic in the game. Sometimes you can see through the characters when walking over stuff or frames of the map but that’s not a big problem, and the only problem I think.
The maps are graphically not very advanced but they are good-looking and well drawn. You never hesitate to understand what various parts in the game are meant to be.
Music in this game is very catchy and fits the game perfectly. There are a lot of tunes so you wont grow tired of them. Sound effects are great and there are lots of them. For example I really like the three bell rings when the diamond effect are starting to end. The sound when the thief escapes with a jet pack on his back has always amazed me, possibly the coolest sound in a Gameboy game?

Playtime/Replayability
For anyone who has played Lock’n Chase before it is possible to finish the first levels relatively quick. The good thing is that when those levels have been finished you can continue. And it doesn’t mean you are going to play the same levels again with harder cops, you are instead presented completely new maps with slightly harder cops.
Some games are impossible to beat. Lock’n Chase isn’t one of those. It is a game that is possible to beat. To finish the extra levels will probably take some tries since they are a bit harder than the first ones but by no means are that an impossible task. I did find the ending very good. I’m not going to say what it was but it was thankfully more than just a boring scroll of names of the developers. It is appealing to return to game after having finished it because of the strong quality of the game.

Final recommendations:
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who wants a great Gameboy game. From the beginning to the excellent end this game oozes with quality and design even though it is nothing more than a small game for the original Gameboy. It is a shame this game is relatively unknown.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03